Buy from national chain store or shop local. (Sonora, Jamestown: sale, to buy)

[Bulldogdad]

One thing that local rural communities sell really well. Religion.

You can buy that for a dollar every Sunday on the collection plate.

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Those would be in my neck of the woods. They're where you generally get your farm supplies here in VA. I'm sure you've got something comparable near you.

Our only local farm supply is, a local farm supply, not a national chain. There is talk of Tractor supply going in 40 miles south of us.

Both our hardware store and our farm supply are local chains, maybe 4-6 stores in the two counties.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Our only local farm supply is, a local farm supply, not a national chain. There is talk of Tractor supply going in 40 miles south of us.

Both our hardware store and our farm supply are local chains, maybe 4-6 stores in the two counties.

Well you mainly do boutique hobby farming around there so perhaps a larger chain wouldn't consider it a big enough base.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by Fargobound

I’ve seen a number of small businesses screaming for people to shop local while providing a substandard level of service. I’ll spend my money in a local establishment if they deserve it, so don’t try and guilt me. A number of these businesses forget that companies like Amazon, eBay and my favorite Universal Cycles are a quick click away and it’s no longer the horse and buggy days.

I live in a small county with the small businesses. I have heard the screams and seen the ads they pull in the paper pushing for support of them.
Andy's lumber had no problem charging me $20 for a $2 box of drywall mud I could buy in the valley.
Yeah, I could help that owner send his children to college. Or, I can save where ever I can and support my family.

Walmart came to town. My wife's uncle and aunt and their children all went to work for them. Each of them get 20 hour work weeks and no health benefits. This is business as normal for wally world. I will not shop there.

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Well you mainly do boutique hobby farming around there so perhaps a larger chain wouldn't consider it a big enough base.

EH? Boutique? Two Counties with close to Two Billion dollars in agriculture, boutique?

The agricultural industry in San Luis Obispo is a crucial part of the local economy. It provides employment and income directly for those in agriculture, and it helps drive growth in the tourism industry, which in turn generates further economic activity and consumer spending. Total crop values increased 14% from $623 million in 2009 to $713 million in 2010, a new historical peak. Fresh strawberries lead this increase. Except for vegetable products, all of the main product categories saw gains in crop values for 2010. Wine grapes are performing well, with red varieties leading the way.

Santa Barbara County Crop Information
Value of agricultural production, 2010: $1,219,996,000 (state ranking: 13th)

I could put in the value of our family owned farms alone, but, no one would believe me and they would fall all over themselves trying to disparage the number.

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

I live in a small county with the small businesses. I have heard the screams and seen the ads they pull in the paper pushing for support of them.
Andy's lumber had no problem charging me $20 for a $2 box of drywall mud I could buy in the valley.
Yeah, I could help that owner send his children to college. Or, I can save where ever I can and support my family.

Walmart came to town. My wife's uncle and aunt and their children all went to work for them. Each of them get 20 hour work weeks and no health benefits. This is business as normal for wally world. I will not shop there.

ferretkona,

Did I read you correctly? Did I actually see you write that WalMart is mining for gold in Columbia? That must be quite an insult to the town's classic historical integrity. I wonder what Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain) would of had to say about that. He may have said, " I never saw a store I didn't like until I saw a WalMart."

[ZhugeLiang]

Originally Posted by TrueTimbers

So you would rather live in a community of low payed walmart employees, with no way to get out of their miserable financial situation, than live in a community filled with people that have hope, and wake up excited about their day, and the implementation of their new business idea!?...

This doesn't make any sense. You act like working in a big box retail store is some kind of indentured servitude. People are free to leave if they wish. Students work jobs like that and then move on to other careers. My company actually does tuition reimbursement even for part-timers (I wouldn't be eligible for this unless my company goes into the medical field).

You don't think that you're dramatizing this just a teeny bit? Seriously, things aren't nearly as dire as you make them out to be. I agree that local business owners are a critical part of any community let alone contributing to keeping a strong middle class, but like any other business, you had better give me a good reason to buy from you.

If you want to get angry over something, get pissed at the tax breaks (crony capitalism) used to bring these eyesores into a given community.

[.highnlite]

Ah, Zhuge, nice to see you, I hope that you have overcome your defensiveness regarding the difference in our respective educational levels (the only reason I can see for someone to attack another's education)

Let us address that, have you walked through a Walmart lately? How many of those people do you think will advance to a higher paid technical job? It doesn't appear to me from observing Walmart employees that they will move on. Instead they are stuck. Not enough education to get a better job, not enough spare change to invest in that education

People are free to leave if they wish.

In a theoretical sense, you are right, but, people are free to jump off bridges too, that doesn't work out too well either.

you had better give me a good reason to buy from you.

I have a simple reason, like true timbers, the simple fact that the business is local is usually sufficient for me. I just put together a large order for trail construction tools. I went to the internet, determined where I could buy these, then went to our local equipment shop, and bought everything local I could, did I pay more? undoubtedly.
Some things I have to go outside the local areas, try finding a mule packable griphoist.
Be local, buy local.
I understand that those who live in the great cienagas that hold the great mass of humans don't have a connection with "local" mores the pity.

[Natural510]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Rural places tend to be similar, what is found in rural Wisconsin, community, is also found in rural California, most Californians live in urban areas I imagine in the modern car centered urban suburban, community is harder to have.

Oh, I don't know about that....
In my neighborhood in Oakland, we had our local natural foods store, local produce shop, local liquor store(s), local coffeeshop, local theater, local fish n chips joint, local restaurants. Even in NYC, people who live in a neighborhood for more than a couple years know their local dry cleaner, produce man, liquor store owner, barista, etc. It's just on a more microscopic level than an entire small town.

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by Natural510

Oh, I don't know about that....
In my neighborhood in Oakland, we had our local natural foods store, local produce shop, local liquor store(s), local coffeeshop, local theater, local fish n chips joint, local restaurants. Even in NYC, people who live in a neighborhood for more than a couple years know their local dry cleaner, produce man, liquor store owner, barista, etc. It's just on a more microscopic level than an entire small town.

I mentioned somewhere around here, that true urban areas are often a collection of "villages", some people in big cities never have to leave their neighborhood.